As Klein's knowledge of mysticism and Beyonders deepened, as well as his experiments with some of the powers of the space above the gray fog, he no longer felt anxious when facing Justice, The Hanged Man, and The Sun. He became less preoccupied with maintaining an enigmatic and unfathomable image so as to prevent the Tarot Club members from keenly noticing his facade.
He now knew that although the deities in this world were powerful and bizarre, they were by no means omniscient and omnipotent. This description was something that only the legendary Creator of everything could do, one that only the City of Silver was still worshiping.
The deities had their limitations, and the deities could also be put into tough situations. That was something Klein could now confirm. Be it The Book of Storms or The Revelation of Evernight, they more or less touched upon this.
Therefore, at the recent Tarot Gathering, Klein was consciously building "character traits," slowly shaping himself into a restricted powerhouse who, for some reason, couldn't move freely but was almost a deity.
This way, even if he occasionally showed that he didn't understand certain things and occasionally asked for help, it wouldn't arouse the suspicion of the Tarot Club members.
Of course, the premise of all this was that, through his previous attempts and through the power displayed by his "adorer," Azik, he had undoubtedly embedded the image of a deity-like existence into the minds of Justice, The Hanged Man, and The Sun.
Phew, I hope that this building of character traits will succeed. That way, I won't have to worry about not being able to answer their questions in the future... Of course, things that are part of "general knowledge" still have to be known, and I shouldn't show fear... Klein tapped the edge of the ancient table and said with a chuckle, "I want to issue a mission."
Mission? Audrey's ears pricked up slightly as her eyes widened. She was astonished, expectant, and perturbed at the same time.
She clearly remembered that this was the first time that Mr. Fool had officially issued a mission!
Although "He" had previously made a few requests, they all involved prepaid rewards. It seemed like "He" had randomly selected missions to conform to the principle of equal exchange... This time, He used the word "issue"... As a Telepathist, Audrey was already very good at reading the hidden meanings behind words.
At the same time, she keenly realized that although The Hanged Man appeared to remain unperturbed, he was actually abnormally tense. As for The Sun, he seemed to be muddle-headed, treating this as a very normal thing.
"You can choose to accept it or not." With the help of his Clown's powers, Klein's tone sounded much more relaxed. "Another adorer of mine has arrived in Backlund. He wants to finish a matter, but it's not convenient for him to show himself."
Another adorer... The Hanged Man nodded, seemingly in thought. He wasn't surprised at all.
In his eyes, for a powerful godlike existence like Mr. Fool, possessing many adorers was a matter of fact.
I wonder what the Sequence number of Mr. Fool's adorer is... Well, I still owe "His" previous adorer a reward... Even though Mr. Fool's reward was paid by Mr. Hanged Man, and "He" doesn't really care about money, I did pray for help at that time. Furthermore, Rear Admiral Hurricane was killed by that adorer..."His" adorer would still need some funds for their activities... Audrey thought with some guilt.
Frankly speaking, thirty thousand gold pounds and a large plantation was an enormous amount of wealth to her, but that alone didn't have any significant effect on her life.
It's good having it, but it didn't matter if I didn't. Well, I might feel the pinch a little...Audrey nodded to herself earnestly.
As a teenage girl who wasn't considered an adult yet, ignoring the large plantation, she actually didn't have absolute control over the remaining thirty thousand pounds. She could only go with her father's arrangements, purchasing some stocks from Backlund Munitions Corporation and invest in a company that was attempting to spinoff some of the technology in ironclad warships for commercial ships.
The amount she ultimately received and could be used as an allowance was only 5000 pounds. However, her fixed annuity had increased by at least 2000 pounds from its original range of 15,000 to 25,000 pounds.
Seeing that Justice and the others hadn't spoken, Klein issued the mission.
"The task he wants to be completed is the assassination of the Intis Republic ambassador to the Loen Kingdom, Bakerland Jean Madan."
"Assassinate the Intis Republic's ambassador!?" Audrey lost her composure as she asked in surprise.
This would cause conflict between the two countries and might even be an act of war! As a qualified aristocratic lady, her first thought was about international foreign affairs.
As for why Mr. Fool didn't do so himself, she found the answer obvious.
Which mighty figure would always be helping their subordinates?
After the Kingdom suffered defeat at the east coast of Balam, the King didn't personally set off. At most, the general would be replaced and new troops deployed.
Hmm, rumor has it that His Majesty wanted to set off for the frontline, but was stopped by the nobles and officials...
Alger was only mildly surprised by the task; his focus was on another matter.
Mr. Fool is indeed unable to strongly interfere with the real world... My guess is right... I wonder to what extent can "He" influence us after establishing our connection... Can "He" easily take one's life away? Alger, a little pleased with himself, began to let his thoughts wander.
Derrick blanked out listening to the conversation.
What's the Intis Republic? What's an ambassador? These words sound so strange in Jotun!
Klein swept his gaze around and maintained his casual attitude.
"Which one of you is willing to accept this mission?
"What kind of reward do you want?"
Eh... I can't convince myself to kill an innocent man for no reason. And it could very well lead to a disaster, a disaster caused by war... Audrey, who wanted to raise her hand, hesitated.
Just then, The Hanged Man chuckled and said, "I've heard that this Ambassador Bakerland is also the intelligence chief of the Intis Republic in the Kingdom. He secretly supports bloodshed, planned a number of incidents that destroyed the relationship between the nobility and the rich, and spread rumors to incite the public into standing against the government."
He seemed to notice the hesitation in Justice, so he described the dark side of Bakerland in detail.
Then, he added, "I'm not sure if the ambassador is a Beyonder, but there are many clues that suggest he may very well be.
"He has quite a number of Beyonders around him, Beyonders that come under the Intis intelligence web. And this department is influenced by the original royal family in Intis, the Sauron family. They're in control of the early Sequences of the Hunter pathway.
"Moreover, the possibility of a war between the two countries depends only on whether or not the upper echelons of both sides want to fight. It has nothing to do with the life or death of a diplomat."
After the assassination of Emperor Roselle, Intis suffered several great shocks but ultimately managed to maintain a stable republican system. Because the Sauron family suffered a brutal blow during Roselle's reign, their strength fell tremendously in all aspects. All they could do was accept the reality and change their goal to fighting for a seat in parliament and secretly influence the country's intelligence department and parts of the army.
After listening to the information provided by The Hanged Man, the hesitation in Audrey's heart disappeared. She gracefully nodded and said, "For the past few years, the Feysac Empire has expanded rapidly, having defeated the Kingdom and the Intis Republic on the Balam east coast and the Highlands. As long as we push the blame to them, the higher-ups and the citizens of the Intis Empire, it will be something acceptable and believable."
Audrey didn't know much about politics, but with her father being a Member of Parliament in the House of Lords, she still knew certain things.
Be it the shirking of responsibility or shifting the focus onto the Kingdom's internal problems, the unpopular northern barbarians were the popular and easiest targets for the nobles and ministers.
Whether they did it or not didn't matter.
Of course, more than a hundred years ago, this role was played by Intis and Roselle.
After pondering for a few seconds, Audrey looked at the seat of honor, feeling a little perturbed and a little guilty.
"Mr. Fool, I can attempt to complete this mission, but I cannot guarantee its success."
On the one hand, she was going to find her father and confirm that Ambassador Bakerland was really the head of the Intis intelligence service. On the other hand, she wasn't going to do it herself either. As a Spectator or a Telepathist, neither one of them was good at combat, and all she could do was gather as much information about Ambassador Backlund from high society as she could and delegate the mission.
Well, I could get Xio and Fors to ask Mr. A to do it... Or find the hosts of the other Beyonder circles... I cannot be exposed. Things have to be kept secret, and there might be Intis intelligence agents lurking in those circles. I don't know how much money I'll have to pay, but 5000 pounds might not be enough... Audrey was already beginning to think of the subsequent plans.
Klein didn't pin his hopes on Sequence 8—Miss Justice—to succeed. He nodded and said, "What compensation would you like?"
"The formula to the Psychiatrist potion," Audrey said before hesitantly adding, "as well as the corresponding Beyonder ingredients. Oh, we can wait until the mission is completed before discussing further. If it doesn't succeed, I'll bear the expenses. I-I still ow-owe your adorer the bounty money."
Bounty money? So it was given to Miss Justice... 10,000 pounds. That's 5000 if we split it equally... Shrouded in the gray fog, Klein pondered for a few seconds on how much Ambassador Bakerland was worth and finally decided that he was definitely more valuable than Rear Admiral Hurricane Qilangos.
"Sure," Klein replied in a normal tone.
At this moment, The Hanged Man Alger added, "I'll also accept this mission. The compensation can be determined after the mission is completed."
"Didn't you return to the sea?" Audrey asked in surprise.
"Just because I'm not in Backlund doesn't mean I can't kill Ambassador Bakerland," Alger said with a smile without giving any detailed explanations.
Derrick, who was beside him, never had the chance to join in on the conversation.
Klein nodded in agreement.
"Okay."
He immediately turned his gaze to the Roselle diary in his hands.
